unit 2 Flashcards
Name given to a super continent that began to break apart 200 million years ago
Pangaea
Wegeners hypothesis that all continents were once connected in a single large landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and drifted slowly to their current positions
continental drift
long, narrow mountain range on the ocean floor; formed by magma at divergent plate boundaries
mid ocean ridges
a deep, underwater through created by one plate subducting under another plate at a convergent plate boundary
ocean trenches
the process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge
seafloor spreading
molten rock stored below the earths surface
magma
magma that erupts onto the earths surface
lava
theory that earths surface is broken into large, ridged pieces that move with respect to eachother.
plate tectonics
the boundaries between 2 plates that move towards eachother
convergent boundaries
the boundary between 2 plates that move away from eachother
divergent boundaries
the boundary between 2 plates that slide past each other
transform boundaries
the process that occurs when one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate
subduction
a crack or fracture in Earth’s lithosphere along which movement occurs
fault
a vent in Earth’s crust through which molten rock flows
volcano
a curved line of volcanoes that forms parallel to a plate boundary
volcano arc
vibrations caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks along a break or a crack in earth’s crust
earthquake
an area of many fractured pieces of crust along a large fault
fault zone
rapid, downhill movement of soil, loose rocks, and boulders
landslide
a wave that forms when an ocean disturbance suddenly moves a large volume of water
tsunami
a round depression formed in the surface of the planet, moon, or other space object by the impact of a meteorite
impact craters
the mechanical and chemical processes that change Earth’s surface over time
weathering
a large mass of ice, formed by snow accumulation on land, that moves slowly across Earth’s surface
glacier
the moving of weathered material, or sediment, from one location to another
erosion
a naturally occurring solid composed of minerals, rock fragments, and sometimes other materials such as organic matter
rock